SK Hynix Inc rebounded sharply on Thursday as investors looked beyond this week’s global semiconductor selloff.
The South Korean memory chipmaker gained momentum ahead of the pricing of its $28 billion U.S. American depositary receipt offering. Several media reports said demand for the deal had easily exceeded the number of shares available.
ADR Pricing Expected After South Korean Market Close
SK Hynix is expected to announce the final offer price after South Korean markets close on Thursday.
The company’s ADRs are scheduled to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on Friday.
SK Hynix Outperforms the KOSPI
SK Hynix shares surged 7.1% during Asian trading.
The stock outperformed the broader KOSPI index, which gained 2.4%. The move helped SK Hynix recover part of the steep losses seen over the previous two sessions.
Earlier in the week, concerns over high valuations in AI-related chip stocks triggered broad profit-taking across the semiconductor sector.
Strong Institutional Demand Supports the Offering
According to media reports, the ADR offering was multiple times oversubscribed.
Institutional investors placed orders well above the number of shares available before Thursday’s pricing.
Reuters reported that several U.S. investors submitted orders ranging from $200 million to more than $1 billion. This highlighted continued demand for SK Hynix, even during recent market volatility.
One of the Largest Foreign Equity Offerings in the U.S.
SK Hynix is offering 17.79 million new shares through ADRs.
This represents about 2.5% of the company’s outstanding equity. The deal is expected to become one of the largest U.S. equity offerings ever completed by a foreign company.
The offering will also give SK Hynix broader access to U.S. institutional investors.
Major Investment Firms Show Interest
Several well-known investment firms have shown interest in the deal.
These include Baillie Gifford, funds managed by Coatue Management and Situational Awareness Partners. Together, they have separately indicated that they could buy up to $7 billion of the ADRs.
AI Memory Demand Drives Expansion Plans
SK Hynix plans to use the proceeds from the offering to expand manufacturing capacity.
Demand for high-bandwidth memory chips continues to rise as artificial intelligence servers require more advanced memory technology. This has made SK Hynix one of the key companies in the global AI chip supply chain.
